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Recognizing False Teachers

Do you ever wonder if you could be deceived by a false teacher? Pastor Barbie shares how to identify false teachers and emphasizes an even more important focus.

Scriptures Referenced

Matthew 7:15-16; Acts 8:9-24, 13:2-12; 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 11:2-3

Key Insights

  • False teachers will tell the truth, but not all of it. That’s deception.
  • Sorcerers perform in order to distract from the truth, rather than releasing a word from God.
  • God does not share His glory with anyone. Be wary of people who think they are great and enjoy receiving praise.
  • Be gleaners of the Word; find things that everyone skips over.
  • Beware of those who live on grace and don’t change.
  • Never assume that false teaching only happens from the pulpit.
  • How to recognize good teachers and leaders.

Prayer Targets

Please join us in prayer for:

  • A hunger for the Word.
  • Tears for the lost.
  • Testimonies to share.

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We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.

Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

Additional Resources

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
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- Amen, amen, amen, amen.

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Well, good morning, Springhouse.

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Look at the person next to you and say, "I like you."

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(audience laughing)

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- I like you.

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- If you're joining us on live stream,

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thank you for joining us today.

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Guys, it's a good day to be in the house of the Lord,

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is it not?

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God is really moving in our midst

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and he's always up to something really good.

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We're gonna continue our series today, His Church.

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And as I explained to you last week,

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because I know that several of you,

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and I've been very encouraged that several of you

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are following along in the Word with us

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as we're traveling along in Acts,

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but because of some schedule changes that we had to make,

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we are jumping today from Acts chapter nine to chapter 13.

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Is that correct, Barbie?

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I hope so.

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I hope she didn't change the plan, you know?

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But 13, next week we will go to chapter 12

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and then next week 11.

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So we're just going backwards, okay?

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So we're going to 13, 12, and 11.

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And I do encourage you because when you come in prepared,

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when you set yourself apart and prepare before you come,

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man, the Lord really can move and speak to your heart.

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So go ahead and get into the Word, 13, 12, and 11.

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Guys, one of the very best decisions

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that Pastor Ronnie made for Springhouse Church

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was to install Barbie Laughlin as a pastor of this house.

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(audience cheering)

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I would not want to be doing this role

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with anyone else beside my side except for Barbie.

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Would you welcome our executive pastor, Pastor Barbie?

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(audience cheering)

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I really thought he was gonna be out of town, so.

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(audience laughing)

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So chapter 13, is it?

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(audience laughing)

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I really like the Psalms.

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(audience laughing)

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We're gonna dig into chapter 13.

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I am really excited about what the Lord is doing

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in this house.

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Guys, let me tell you, Pastor Bruce stopped in to see me

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this week, which was an honor in and of itself,

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just to be able to spend some time with him.

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And one of the first things he said to me,

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because he was with us last Sunday,

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and he went, "Barbie, the Holy Ghost is in that place.

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"The Holy Ghost is in that place."

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I'm like, I know!

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It's pretty awesome.

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But to be encouraged by someone who plowed this soil

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for so long for him to step in and be excited

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about what God's doing in this house

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was extremely encouraging.

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So I guess we will teach out of chapter 13 today.

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And if you will stand with us, we are gonna,

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do you know why we ask you to stand for this?

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We honor the word by giving it our full attention.

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We look at the word, we take it to heart, and we honor.

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This is scriptural.

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When they would read the scrolls in the word,

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the people would stand for the reading,

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and that's what we do.

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While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,

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the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul

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"for the work to which I have called them."

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So after they had fasted and prayed,

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they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

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Does that not sound like an old Holy Ghost thing?

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They fasted, they prayed, and they laid on hands.

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I'm digging this a little bit.

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Anyway, the two of them, sent on their way

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by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia

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and sailed from there to Cyprus.

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When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word

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of God in the Jewish synagogues.

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John was with them as their helper.

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They traveled through the whole island

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until they came to Paphos.

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There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet

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named Barjesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul,

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Sergius Paulus.

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The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul

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because he wanted to hear the word of God,

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but Elimes, the sorcerer, for that is what his name means,

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opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

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Then Saul, who was also called Paul,

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filled with the Holy Spirit, say that again,

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filled with the Holy Spirit, one more time,

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filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elimes

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and said, "You are a child of the devil

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"and an enemy of everything that is right.

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"You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.

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"Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

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"Now the hand of the Lord is against you.

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"You are going to be blind for a time,

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"not even able to see the light of the sun."

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Immediately mist and darkness came over him

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and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

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When the proconsul saw what had happened,

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he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

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Father God, may we always be amazed

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at the teaching of the Lord, not the teaching of a man,

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but the teaching of the Lord.

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Father God, I'm asking, Lord,

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that we would have ears that hear you today,

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but Father, even beyond that,

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hearts that are changed by your word today,

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Father, we're gonna lean in, we're gonna listen to you,

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we're gonna invite the Holy Spirit to do what he does

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and bring discernment in all things today.

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We just wanna sit at your feet and learn from you.

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Father, let my stuff fall in your stand.

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In Jesus' name, amen, amen.

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Because this is the text we're starting with,

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that is where I'm going to begin in this teaching.

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I have been charged with the opportunity

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to share with you regarding false teachers.

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And I honestly believe that the best way for me

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to share with you about false teachers

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is to tell you about right teachers,

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teachers who are committed to the Lord.

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But we are gonna touch on false teachers for just a moment

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because that's where we begin.

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And then we're gonna, hopefully,

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God is gonna take us through the scriptures

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and give us a little bit more insight.

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The very first thing I see in this passage of scripture

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is that we're talking about them coming across

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a false prophet and teacher, sorcerer,

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we called him Bar Jesus.

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Well, it's actually Bar Yessu.

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But in Nashville, it's Bar Jesus.

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So Bar Yessu is a prophet and he has drawn close

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to leaders and power and authority.

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You know what's interesting about this?

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His name, Bar Yessu, literally means son of Jesus.

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And on the surface, that sounds great, doesn't it?

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He's associated with Jesus.

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But let me tell you something, nowhere in the word of God

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are you called the son of Jesus.

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Nowhere in the word are you referred to as the son of Jesus.

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You are sons and daughters of a living God.

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Just because something has the name Jesus attached to it

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doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's sound,

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doesn't mean it's healthy for you.

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So he calls himself Bar Yessu.

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And I think it's interesting, later on we find out

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that the apostles call him exactly what he is.

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But sometimes one of the things you need to watch for

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are people who come in the name of Jesus,

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but are sharing something that isn't of him.

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It says that he was a sorcerer.

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It says that he was a sorcerer.

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Sorcerers by design, I mean, you're all are gonna think

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about Dumbledore, I know.

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But we're gonna talk about sorcerers are actually performers.

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They're performers and their job is to create an illusion

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that causes false things to appear real

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or real things to appear false.

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And the key word in this is performer.

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You don't want a performer unless you're going to a play.

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Then it's really good to have a good performer.

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But from your pulpit, you don't want a performer.

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You want somebody who's delivering a word of truth

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that comes from God.

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And we have to pay attention to that.

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One of the first things I wanna take you to

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is Acts chapter eight, we're gonna jump back.

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I believe Pastor Kevin taught from chapter eight

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a little while ago.

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But chapter eight, while we find out,

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I love the sound of turning pages.

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I really do, you just don't get the same thing

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as you scroll.

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But that's me personally.

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I love two of my favorite sounds in the morning

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is the sound of coffee brewing and pages turning.

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That's my favorite.

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That's my favorite.

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But Acts chapter eight, we're gonna jump back

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and we're gonna look at another sorcerer,

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another prophet, another false teacher.

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What we find, if you wanna read it,

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you start about in verse nine and go through verse 24.

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And I really encourage you to go do that

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because it gives us some strong watch words.

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But what we find in Simon, the sorcerer,

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is that the first thing we learn about him

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is that he was great.

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He proclaimed his own greatness.

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People who believe their own hype are dangerous.

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People who are popular to themselves,

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you wanna be careful of.

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People who, it also says, and the people were drawn to him,

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dependent upon the translation that you read,

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talks about he could always draw a crowd.

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And they would say, "He is the power of God.

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"This man has the power of God."

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Not everything that looks like power comes from God.

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There are false and counterfeit sources.

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There are powers.

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If we're gonna believe in God,

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we must also believe in the demonic forces.

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If we're gonna believe that God is powerful,

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we must understand that there is a counterfeit

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as well to that.

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So God wouldn't have us ignorant,

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but one of the signs that you look for

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when you're trying to determine,

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is this just a good show, or is this genuine?

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Watch the train of the glory.

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Watch the train of worship as it goes.

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People who will receive exaltation for themselves

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are dangerous.

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They're dangerous, and just because there's a little flash

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and a little shine doesn't mean it's authentic.

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Sometimes you can receive a word from someone

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and that word is not sourced

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from where it should be sourced from,

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and in that case, it's no better than getting a palm reading.

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Seriously.

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Check the source.

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And one of the things that we do in checking the source

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is we see where's the worship going.

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Am I applauding the prophet,

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or am I applauding the God he's serving?

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Am I applauding the God that he is serving?

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Worship is a big telltale thing.

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God doesn't, it's unhealthy to be in a place

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where your people are worshiping their pastor,

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or your people are following a teacher, following a leader,

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instead of the person they are supposed to be following.

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Pay attention to who's getting the attention.

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Pay attention to where the worship goes.

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And in that, I really, something that has been in my spirit

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for a while that I just want to encourage you in

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is the train of worship.

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In the vein of worship, do you understand

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that not every false teaching is gonna come from a pulpit?

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Do you understand that every false teaching

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is not necessarily gonna take place in a place like this?

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It's gonna come across TikTok, it's gonna be on Facebook,

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it's gonna be on your television screens,

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it's gonna be on your computer monitors,

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and it's gonna come from bands on a stage.

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And not necessarily a secular band.

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Listen guys, we know the message of a secular band

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is not gonna be Christ-centered.

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But sometimes we run across worship,

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I use that term lightly, that is not Christ-centered.

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Are you paying attention these days

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and how many of our songs are about us?

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And that's appropriate, there are songs of ascent,

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there are psalms of ascent

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that are specifically designed to give the testimony

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of what God has done in our life.

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That is the psalm of ascent and that is absolutely right

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and absolutely perfect, but it should never stop there.

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It should never stop there.

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That worship, there's a completion.

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Pastor Jonathan, I have the privilege

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of having an office across from his.

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And during the week, let me tell you something,

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it is a very rare day that I don't hear him

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in there worshiping, that I don't hear him in there

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with his guitar, that I don't hear him in,

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turn it down, man, no I'm kidding.

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[audience laughing]

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I just wanted to do that publicly so he'd stop,

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no I'm kidding.

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I listen to him worship, I listen to the way

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that he enters in, he prays over this set list.

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And I want you to pay attention to what he did today.

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If you didn't pay attention to what he did today,

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he started with praise.

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He knows that the word tells us,

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I will enter his gates with thanksgiving.

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And that we are to enter his courts with praise.

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That's exactly what he did.

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And then he moved toward proclamation,

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Yahweh, we love you, Yahweh, we love you.

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And we were able to sing that,

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and we were able to enter into that.

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And then we had, the next thing we had a proclamation,

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we had Sarah singing, this is how I fight my battles.

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This is how I fight my battles.

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And then we moved to a place, we had another,

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and then we moved to a place of completion

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where we moved into adoration.

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Adoration, you God are holy forever.

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You God are holy forever.

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Your name is the highest.

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No one like him.

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Now here's the danger point guys.

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There are places all over, and we do it ourselves too.

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We never complete the cycle.

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We don't complete that cycle, and so we get stuck.

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It's wonderful to be in praise,

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and it's wonderful to jump, and it's wonderful to leap,

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and it's wonderful, but there's more to the story.

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And so often some of the things that we're being taught

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are this feel good God that we jump and we shout,

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but we never complete that cycle,

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and get into the place where we are acknowledging

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the absolute holiness of God, the sovereignty of who he is.

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Let me tell you why that's dangerous.

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Because all too often praise and songs sell,

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but worship and adoration invites presence, invites presence,

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and the enemy does not care how loud you shout.

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What he doesn't want you to do is ever fall on your knees,

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get on your face before a sovereign God,

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and surrender your life, and that's the danger

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that we face sometimes in the distortion of going

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this is great, this is great, this is perfect,

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but have you stopped in your praise?

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Have you accelerated and moved to a place of worship

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before him, acknowledging him?

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It's not just teachers with books in front of them

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that are giving us our doctrine today.

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It's people with guitars and microphones that are,

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there's a song that says Jesus turned,

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God turned his face away.

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That's not scripture.

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It's a great song, it's a great thing to sing,

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but it's not true, and there are distortions

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that we're getting that unless you know the truth,

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you're never gonna recognize the distortion,

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and that's where I'm going with today.

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I'm gonna tell you about the truth.

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I'm gonna tell you what a pastor, leader, teacher

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should actually look like to you,

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someone that you want to invest in the words

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that they're giving because they're the word of God.

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Scripture tells us, well, I'll jump there,

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but Acts 13, Paul corrects Bariassu.

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He corrects him and he says, you are a son of the devil.

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You're not, which was interesting to me

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because he called himself the son of Jesus.

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And Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,

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Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,

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looks at it and says, you are a son of the devil,

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and you are an opponent of everything

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that God is trying to do.

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Let me tell you something.

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The things that we do, they can cause harm

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in the kingdom if they're not sound.

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They can cause damage in the kingdom.

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I'll love later when Peter confronts Simon,

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listen to this, tell me if this does not strike you.

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Peter goes in and he begins to,

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they begin to lay hands on people

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and they begin to receive the Holy Ghost,

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and here's Simon, the sorcerer,

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the performer, the one who thought he was great

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and allowed the people to exalt him.

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That guy, it says he gets, he becomes a believer

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and he is baptized.

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And it's after he is a believer

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and he's been baptized that he goes, I wanna buy that.

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I wanna buy that power that you have.

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And Peter turns around and corrects him sternly,

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we'll just call it that.

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And he says, again, basically, you're a son of the devil.

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You are opposing the move of God.

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But let me tell you something.

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Just because, two things.

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You can be a believer, you can be baptized

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and still really blow it.

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Really, really mess up.

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And how sad would it have been for Peter

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to just walk away and let him stay in his mess.

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But he didn't, he turned around and he corrected him.

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And he's like, you can't buy this thing.

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But the wonderful thing about it was Simon said,

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please pray for me.

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Please pray for me that none of those things befall me.

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Pray for me when you are captured and when you are snared

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and when you mess up and somebody loves you enough

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to come and go, what are you thinking?

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What have you done?

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Your response should not be, well, who are you?

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It should be, pray for me.

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Pray for me that none of those things would befall me.

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Oh, Jesus, help me, Lord.

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Okay, so those are some things you don't want.

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You do not want somebody who has a whole lot of shine

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and is shallow.

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You don't want somebody whose personality

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overrides his anointing.

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You don't want somebody where you walk out of a room

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singing their praises instead of God's.

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You don't want somebody who has a Sunday relationship

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with God that can speak an eloquent word

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but has no true authority in the Spirit.

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Because a person can, can, can I tell you something else?

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Not all false teachers are intentionally corrupt.

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A lot of them are just immature in their faith.

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We promote young people so fast and we give them a voice

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and an authority and they have no roots

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and they have no grounding and they have no foundation

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and so they're teaching us what they've learned themselves

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from others rather than the authority of God.

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Not all false teachers, not all people who are missing it

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are out to get you, they just don't know.

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But let me tell you something,

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you're not gonna recognize it if you don't know.

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And so allowing the gift of the Holy Spirit

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to birth discernment in our life changes everything.

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So what's a pastor supposed to look like?

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Not sharp, not flashy and glory driven

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with a distorted word?

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What's it supposed to look like?

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Let's look at the word and see what it says.

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First let's go to Matthew 7, verse 15.

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The word says, I am so in joy in my amplified Bible,

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seriously.

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Verse 16 it says, by, well 15 says,

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beware of false prophets and teachers

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who come to you dressed as sheep,

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appearing as gentle and innocent,

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but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

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By their fruit you will recognize them.

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That is by their contrived doctrine and self-focus.

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By their fruit you will recognize them.

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Now this was really big in my spirit.

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You do understand that the quality of fruit

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is what matters, not the quantity.

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You can be a growing, prospering, big church

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and not be a healthy church.

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You can have a thousand apples,

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but if only two of them are good,

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you've not got a lot of good fruit.

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It's in the quality of what it is.

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And I mean, seriously guys, how can it be about numbers?

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The word of God tells us that God took armies of thousands

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and reduced them to 300 because he didn't want man

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to brag about the numbers that he had.

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We did that sometimes.

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We love the big numbers because it shows the army

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we have built.

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I don't wanna fight with an army I've built, trust me.

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I don't have the skills, I want the 300.

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And I believe that if we will trust God for that,

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it's not about numbers guys, it's about good fruit.

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It's about good fruit.

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Taylor Swift had a concert in February.

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Two days back to back, over 300,000 people attended that.

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What does that prove?

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Proves we like a good show.

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We like a good show.

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When I go into my church, I don't want a good show.

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If I want a good show, I'll watch it on TV

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or I'll come and watch Springhouse Theater do something.

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Which they're pretty awesome,

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Sound of Music going on as we speak.

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Amazing crowds, great production.

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But that's not why I come here on Sunday mornings.

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That's not why I do this.

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I come because I wanna worship with you.

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I wanna worship the Creator with you.

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I wanna listen to a sound word from somebody

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who's actually studied the scriptures for themselves.

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For themselves.

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That's what, and you know what fruit,

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it says you'll know them by your fruit.

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If fruit isn't numbers, what is it?

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Fruit is a church where lives are being changed.

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Fruit is a church where marriages are being restored.

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Fruit is a place where salvations are happening.

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And the Holy Spirit is delivering people

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from bondages that they've been in.

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Fruit is sound and it's good.

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Just like when he says taste and see that the Lord is good.

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He is good.

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Now, let's get one more passage of scripture in here

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that I think is so important.

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In your pastors and leaders, 2 Corinthians 11.

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[paper rustling]

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This is the kind of pastor, teacher, leader,

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worship leader that you want.

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It says, Paul says, I, in verse two,

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I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy

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because I have promised you to one husband

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to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

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You want leaders who will lead you

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in an upward call toward Christ.

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You want leaders who are presenting to you

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that you don't have to stay in your sin.

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You want leaders who are telling you

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that you can live a godly life before him.

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You want teachers that will do exactly what Kevin

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just now did, teaching my message.

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But to go, there's an upward call.

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There's an upward call.

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There's a reference in here, Paul calls this God,

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this fashionable God of darkness.

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A fashionable God of darkness.

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There is a very popular God that many people serve today

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who will allow you to stay bound all of your life,

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living on grace and mercy, which we all do,

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but never telling you you can be free.

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You want a message that's coming straight

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from the throne room?

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Is that it was for freedom that Christ has set you free.

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Do not be yoked again with slavery.

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That's the message God has for you.

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And if his messengers are not telling you that, run.

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Run.

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We can put on a good show and we can garner a crowd,

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but it will not build his church.

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And we are about building his church.

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This is what scripture says.

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This is the kind of pastor, leader, teacher you want.

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I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy

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because I have promised you if your pastors

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and your leaders do not feel a sense of responsibility

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for you before the Lord, there's a problem.

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There's a problem.

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If they're asking you to serve them

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rather than them serving you, there's a problem

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because Christ came to serve.

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And your leaders should be servant-hearted.

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And finally, 2 Corinthians chapter four.

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Listen.

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(audience laughing)

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You're gonna fall in love with that sound.

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You're gonna buy a real Bible.

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Can you do this with your phone?

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Ah, Jesus.

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You do that and something from TikTok's

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gonna spring up under there.

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(audience laughing)

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You're gonna post something you don't mean to post.

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Get yourself one of these.

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And the beauty of it is it's large print.

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Woo, yes!

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(audience cheering)

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Oh, okay.

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(audience laughing)

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God is so good.

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Okay, can anybody find 2 Corinthians?

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Verse chapter four, verse one and two.

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Listen to this.

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This is what Paul says.

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Therefore, since we have this ministry,

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just as we have received mercy from God,

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we do not get discouraged or lose our motivation.

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You want a pastor who doesn't stay discouraged,

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who doesn't run when things get tough,

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who digs his feet in and gets right in the mud with you.

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That's the kind of pastor you want.

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You want one that says,

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it says we renounce the disgraceful things

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hidden because of shame.

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We don't walk in trickery.

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We don't adulterate the word.

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We state it openly and leave it open to be judged.

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You want a pastor who's transparent.

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You want a leader who will let you in their life

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and tell you that they got a speeding ticket

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going through the school zone.

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(audience laughing)

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Now listen, I would not have told you that

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if he hadn't told you that first.

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But I am gonna tell you this, no I'm kidding.

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You want a pastor who loves the Lord.

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You want a pastor who's gonna open up his life

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and his heart, who's gonna dig in the word

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and who's gonna share with you.

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Let me tell you what else you want.

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You want a pastor who loves you,

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who loves your family, who cares for you.

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God gave me the most perfect example.

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You wanna see what a man of God looks like.

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You wanna see what a pastor that loves the Lord,

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digs in the truth and serves well.

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I've got one for you right here.

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(audience cheering)

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You know what he's doing?

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Nobody would work the nursery that day.

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And pastor will, I'll work it.

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Do you know how many times he's done that?

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Do you know how many times he's loved on my grandson?

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Isn't he cute?

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My grandson's cute too.

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(audience laughing)

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Let me tell you something about Will Sevier.

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He is one of the most humble men that I know.

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He is one of the most kind-hearted, servant-hearted

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people that I know and he is sound.

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Sound all the way through.

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That's the kind of pastor you want.

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That's the kind of person that you want.

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And guys, let me tell you something.

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You don't need to focus.

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Come on out worship band.

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I mean true worship band, come on out.

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(audience laughing)

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I'm getting so much trouble.

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(audience laughing)

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Let me tell you something guys.

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We don't need to walk around focusing on Satan

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and what he's doing.

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If you will focus on the true,

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if you will focus on the ministers who are pouring out truth,

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opening their lives and serving you,

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you're not gonna have to worry about the other.

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If you will ask the Holy Spirit of God

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to give you a gift of discernment.

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If you will press into the gift of the Holy Spirit

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and allow him to give you the gift of discernment,

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you will walk through life going, that's not him.

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That's not God.

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Oh no, that's not God.

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And you will leave those places where you and your family

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and your spirit and your life are in danger

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for believing the false.

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God is good.

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God is faithful.

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And if we will press into him, we will press into him,

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God will release truth.

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He will reveal to you the true and the false

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and your life and the lives of your family

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and the lives of the generations to come

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that are following you will be transformed

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because God will draw a bloodline in your life

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that changes everything from here to there, everything.

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So what we're getting ready to do

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is we're getting ready to complete the circle again.

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I'm gonna ask some of the worship warriors,

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some of the, is anybody else who's in the praise team here?

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I need you if you are.

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If you play an instrument,

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if you stand on this front line,

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you guys are gonna be our prayer warriors today.

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And if you need prayer today for anything,

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see these guys don't stand up here because they're gifted.

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They stand up here because they're anointed

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and they have set their lives apart

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to follow the purposes of God.

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And this is part of that.

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It's not about a microphone.

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It's about a life that is dedicated to him.

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So what we're gonna do is we're gonna complete the circle.

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We are gonna enter into holy forever one more time

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and we are going to worship him

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and we are gonna finish this gathering with adoration

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and we are gonna invite the presence of the Holy Spirit

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to just come in and do what he does best,

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wreck our lives and change everything.

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So if you would stand with me,

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we're gonna enter into worship.

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Let's go ahead, guys.

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Father, we're asking you.

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We're inviting the Holy Spirit, though you are here,

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we're asking for the fullness.

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In the name of Jesus, do what you do.

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We're gonna worship.

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Jesus.

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you